Michael Rapaport

n 1993, Michael Rapaport made his film debut in Zebrahead, receiving critical acclaim for his genuine and confident portrayal of a Jewish teenager growing up in a predominantly African-American Detroit neighborhood. The performance went on to garner him an Independent Spirit Award nomination and the film itself won the 1993 Sundance Film Festival's Filmmaker's Trophy.

Rapaport recently starred in David E. Kelley's critically acclaimed television drama Boston Public. He joined the cast in 2000 as Danny Hanson. The show focused on the lives of the faculty members at a high school in Boston as they weave in and out of dealing with troublemakers, having a personal life and keeping their sanity.

Other notable appearances include such dramas as John Singleton's Higher Learning and Barbet Schroeder's Kiss of Death and comedic turns in Allen's Mighty Aphrodite and Ted Demme's Beautiful Girls. Additional film credits include Metro, A Brother's Kiss, Cop Land, Kicked in the Head, True Romance, The Pallbearer, Illtown, Comic Book Villains, Palmetto and Deep Blue Sea. He recently completed Grilled starring Ray Romano and Kevin James.

Rapaport most recently has started pursuing roles behind the scenes. He directed the final episode of Boston Public, which was the follow-up to the critically acclaimed short film he also directed for Showtime, Meeting Mr. Johnson. He is currently producing and developing Car Show for MTV Films/Paramount Pictures.

Note: This profile was written in or before 2005.Read earlier biographies on this page.